In order to become certified by the Florida Office of Supplier Diversity (OSD) as a woman, veteran, or minority-owned business enterprise, a business must meet the eligibility criteria set forth in Rule 60A-9, Florida Administrative Code. Further, the vendor must register in MyFloridaMarketPlace as a vendor, identify itself as a woman, veteran, or minority-owned business and submit supporting documentation to OSD for review.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may begin the registration process via the State of Florida’s Vendor Information Portal (VIP). The system will also ask about your social economic status and will prompt you to select the socio-economic categories that apply to you (woman, veteran, and/or minority). After completing the registration in VIP, review the required documentation for certification and submit to the Office of Supplier Diversity. Review the Certification Required Documents before you submit your documents.
The MyFloridaMarketPlace Vendors section of this website provides information and resources to current and prospective vendor customers.
Registration in MyFloridaMarketPlace is just the first step in seeking certification. When registering online with MyFloridaMarketPlace you have an option to select any of the designations of woman-, veteran- or minority-owned business. In order to become certified, you must submit the supporting documentation to the Office of Supplier Diversity for further review to determine eligibility.
No, any business may register with MyFloridaMarketPlace to do business with the State. However, if the vendor wishes to participate in the procurement process as a certified business enterprise, it must go through the Office of Supplier Diversity to obtain the certification.
State agencies are strongly encouraged to seek viable and growth-oriented woman-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses to participate in procurement opportunities in an effort to diversify their spending.
There are a variety of conferences and workshops that occur throughout the year. State certified woman-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses receive first-tier information on events hosted by the Office of Supplier Diversity through our “OSD Events” emails. To get the most updated information on events hosted by the Office of Supplier Diversity, as well as other agencies and organizations, visit the OSD Events section of this website.
In addition to the State of Florida’s Vendor Bid System, the Office of Supplier Diversity shares bid announcements from cities, counties, universities, colleges and more. Visit OSD’s Vendor Resource Announcement page to see what current bid opportunities are posted. Listings are updated frequently — so bookmark the page and visit often.
No, the two certifications are separate and distinct. The Office of Supplier Diversity certifies woman, veteran, and minority-owned business enterprises on behalf of all state agencies. DBE certification is a federal program administered by state and local transportation agencies that let DOT-assisted contracts. The Office of Supplier Diversity and FDOT have a working agreement to make the acquisition of both certifications as seamless as possible when vendors meet the qualifications for both.
The Office of Supplier Diversity’s logo is the property of the Department of Management Services and cannot be used to promote any entity. You may use your issued certificate to show your certification.
A Letting is an FDOT notice that is posted monthly and incorporates proposals released for that month. A letting may also include proposals that have been canceled or moved to or from another letting date.
In general, proposals issued through the FDOT Letting process must be submitted through “Bid Express”; Invitations to Bid, Invitations to Negotiate, and Requests for Proposals issued through the Vendor Bid System must be submitted in accordance with the directions in each advertisement.
The Bid Express service is an online information service for bidding provided by Infotech, Inc. The Bid Express service is available on the Internet at www.bidx.com. It is a two-way service, publishing bid-related information from agencies to the bidding community, and allowing online, secure bid submission from the bidding community to the agency. The Bid Express service also enables electronic bid bond verification, provides automatic email notification of projects, and, where available, provides online access to plan sheets and to bid tab data.
Yes, the fee for basic service is $40.00 per month plus $20.00 per month for internet bidding. The fee schedule is available at https://www.infotechinc.com/bid-x-fee-schedule.
Yes, you will need to contact Bid Express to obtain a Digital ID. There is a one-time charge of $100.00 for a Digital ID.
The Business Development Initiative (BDI) is designed to support the Department’s efforts to increase competition, lower prices, and increase support to meet its contracting needs over the next 10 years. The Initiative is designed to provide more opportunities and support for small businesses to move from sub-contracting and sub-consulting to prime contracting and consulting roles.
Contractor Prequalification – Florida Law (Chapter 337.14 F.S.) and Rules of the State of Florida, Department of Transportation, (Chapter 14-22, F.A.C.) require contractors to be prequalified with the Department in order to bid for the performance of road, bridge, or public transportation construction contracts greater than $250,000.00. Prequalification is accomplished by using an annual application process. Applicants should read Chapter 337.14 F.S. and Rule 14-22 F.A.C. to review for compliance prior to completing the application.
Professional Services Prequalification – All consultants competing for contracts in the standard types of work must qualify with the Department in the applicable work types. Qualification is not required for professional services contracts outside of the standard work types. Sub-consultants performing services in any of the standard types of work must also be qualified with the Department. Standard Work Types are stipulated in 14-75 F.A.C.
There are two levels of Qualification for Professional Services
Unlimited – This level of qualification allows consultants to compete for any projects for which they are technically qualified with the Department. Continued qualification at this level requires annual submittal of a qualification application along with proof of insurance, an overhead audit prepared by an independent CPA, a signed Contractor Cost Certification
Minor Projects Only – This level of qualification allows consultants to compete for minor projects with fees estimated below $500,000. Contract advertisements identify whether a contract is a minor project or a major project. Continued qualification at the minor project level requires annual submittal of a qualification form along with proof of insurance. A self-certified overhead report and statement describing the firm’s accounting system is ultimately required for contracting with the Department.
Contractor and professional services prequalification are performed through an application process, visit the perspective links in the “Helpful Links” portion of this web page for additional information on each prequalification process.